24 Jul 2013:
European Investment Bank Will Not Finance Most Coal Power Stations

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the main lending arm of the European Union, has decided to stop financing most coal-fired power plants, part of an effort to help the 28-nation bloc meet ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets by 2030. The EIB says that new and refurbished coal-fired power stations will be ineligible for funding unless they emit less than 550 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour, a standard that traditional coal power plants would be unable to meet. Power stations that burn coal would only be able to meet the standards if they also produce heat for municipal or commercial heating systems or burned biomass. The EIB says it plans to further tighten its emissions standards for coal- and natural gas-fired power plants in the future. The new standards “represent a step change in the EU’s fight against climate change and puts the bankers ahead of the politicians in terms of tangible action,” said Ingrid Holmes of the environmental think tank E3G.